"For the most part it's a really prissy sort of poncy job. It's got nothing to do with why you wanted to do it when you were 14 or something - when I wanted to be a spy or an assassin or something."-Noah Taylor on acting

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2009 – PREVIEW

A CHANGED LOACH HERALDS A CHANGED FEST
Ken Loach doesn’t usually do ‘funny’ so his new film, Looking for Eric, is
newsworthy and no wonder Clare Stewart has chosen it to open this year’s Sydney
Film Festival; we need a good laugh that’s not at the expense of our bumbling
politicians. And there are three Australian films out of the 12 in the
Competition, albeit not comedies, vying for the $60,000 Hunter Hall cash prize,
reports Andrew L. Urban. But it also ends on an upper, with Lone Scherfig’s An
Education. In between, a new Foxtel-sponsored doco competition kicks off, in
what is a year of change all round.

There is a clear sense of change in this year’s Sydney Film Festival, as it
shortens its run to 12 days, introduces a new competition for docos, shifts the
programming to ‘visceral’ groupings and expands its menus of local and
international premieres.

Teri Hatcher will be at the Australian premiere of Henry Selick’s Coraline on
Wednesday, June 10 and director John Woo will walk the red carpet for the
Australian premiere of his film, Red Cliff, on Tuesday June 9. Three of the
Competition films are direct from the 62nd Cannes Film Festival: Altiplano, Face
and Opening Night film Looking for Eric.

In addition, Clare has managed to squeeze in a Retrospective: Girls 24/7,
selection of films by women directors from the 60s and 70s that include new 35mm
prints of Angès Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7, and Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman;
as well as Restorations that include Wake In Fright (1971) and the 65th
anniversary of D-Day on June 6 is marked with a screening of Overlord, an
extraordinary film from 1975 that combines archival images of this historical
landing with a fictional story about a young soldier, followed by Q&A with
director Stuart Cooper.

The special screening of Bob Fosse and Liza Minnelli’s 1972 history-making
collaboration, Liza with a Z (made the year they won Oscars for Cabaret)
followed by a Q&A live via satellite with Minnelli.

"cinematic adventure"

Perhaps unavoidably, there is also a Sustainability sidebar showing films
that deal with the environment, and of course, something for the family, films
about disability, silents and a glam-bam for Fashionistas, featuring behind the
scenes expose from Vogue, The September Issue.

The program is varied, interesting and has a fresh feel, offering respect as
well as cinematic adventure, political correctness as well as rebellion.